Perspectives on Manet

Bringing forth fresh perspectives on Manet's art by established scholars, this volume places this compelling and elusive artist's painted Å“uvre within a broader cultural context, and links his artistic preoccupations with literary and musical currents. Rather than seeking consensus on his art through one methodology, or focusing on one crucial work or period, this collection investigates the range of Manet's art in the context of his time and considers how his vision has shaped subsequent interpretations. Specific essays explore the relationship between Manet and Whistler; Emile Zola's attitude toward the artist; Manet's engagement with moral and ethical questions in his paintings; and the heritage of Charles Baudelaire and Clement Greenberg in critical responses to Manet. Through these and other analyses, this volume illuminates the scope of Manet's career, and indicates the crucial position the artist held in generating a modernist avant-garde aesthetic.

Contents: Introduction: perspectives on Manet, Therese Dolan; Manet and the ethics of realism, Nancy Locke; The spectacle of the face: Manet's portrait of Victorine Meurent, Susan Sidlauskas; Manet and Whistler: Baudelairean Voyage, Suzanne Singletary; Manet and the Impressionist moment, Jane Mayo Roos; Zola's Manets, Robert Lethbridge; Manet's heroic corpses and the politics of their time, James H. Rubin; Manet's synesthetic portrait: composing Cabaner, Therese Dolan; Yet another look at the Bar: Manet, Duranty, and the double view, Marilyn R. Brown; Reconstructing Manet, Steven Z. Levine; Bibliography; Index.

Therese Dolan is Professor of Art History and Women's Studies at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, USA